St. Patrick's Day Parade Allows Gay Veterans to March Following Backlash

Faced with vocal backlash, mounting pressure, and elected officials and sponsors dropping out, the St. Patrick's Day Parade has reversed course and will allow a gay veterans group to march this year.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade's Twitter account tweeted late Friday afternoon that an "acceptance letter signed by Parade Organizer to allow @OUTVETS to march in 2017 parade."

Outvets has not yet said whether it will accept the invitation. The group was granted permission to march in 2015, but after two years was denied this time around. The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council on Tuesday voted, 9-4, to keep them out.

Then came the backlash. Mayor Martin, Gov. Charlie Baker, and many state senators said they would not be attending the parade. Mass Fallen Heroes Executive Director Dan Magoon resigned his post as chief marshal.

Then came the sponsors. Stop & Shop dropped out. Anheuser-Busch said it is "evaluating our participation in this event and urge the parade organizers to reverse their decision."

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"I will not tolerate discrimination in our city of any form," Walsh said in a Wednesday morning statement. "We are one Boston, which means we are a fully inclusive city. I will not be marching in the parade unless this is resolved. Anyone who values what our city stands for should do the same."

The parade's website says it does not ban groups based on sexual orientation, but "will not allow the advertisement or display of one's sexual orientation as a topic that should in any way be depicted as a theme of our parade."

In response to the outpouring of support from officials and sponsors, OutVets released the following statement Thursday:

"OUTVETS is humbled and moved by the outpouring of support from so many of our elected officials, our brother and sister veterans, and many many others around the Allied War Veterans' Council's decision to exclude OUTVETS from this year's parade. We are encouraged by this unequivocal support for LGBTQ veterans and the LGBTQ community as a whole. Discrimination against one is discrimination against all.

We hope for a positive resolution to this situation and hope it is resolved in a timely manner."

The parade is set to start March 19 at 1 p.m.

The route is as follows:

Photo by Tim Pierce via Flickr